Blackpool 2-1 Liverpool: In game and Post Match Despair

you should.

really??

Mereiles and Kuyt had shockers, two people you would expect to be passing well in a game seeing as they were playing in midfield.

Actually I watched the stats and they don't show a big problem in our midfield. Mereiles had a reasonable 75% pass completion, Lucas and Poulsen were a little under 80 (and chalkboard show there weren't too many backward passes). Poulsen only succeeeded one tackle but had 5 interceptions. Lucas succeeded 10 tackles/14 and Mereiles 3/6.

It's not amazing stats but nothing shocking (except Poulsen and Kuyt succeeding to fail 4 tackles /5 attempts each).

Our wide players were a little worse for pass completion (70% for Kuyt, 65% for Jovanovic), but I think it's logical in their positions, many missed passes were attempts to make the decisive one.

Our defenders weren't very active but generally succeeded what they attempted (Agger 3 tackles in the game and the best pass completion of the team with 81% ; Skrtel 5 tackles/6 and 75%)

I think the problems are more global. Nobody was truly awfull but nobody was really good either, and the most important thing : as a team they were worse than their sum of individuals. Very few constructed actions. Zero one two, and a bad positioning in defense.

Not really a surprise considering many players weren't used to play together since a moment, or in these positions and they just had 2 days to prepare this match. And nothing adequate training can't solve.

Kuyt was abysmal and Agger was woeful - passing was sh*te and what was that backpass to Reina all about? Bring back Maxi into our midfield and Sotis into central defence - no more messing about with players who clearly don't want to play for anymore. Losing to Blackpool especially after such a promising start is NOT ACCEPTABLE for Liverpool Football Club - Embarassing. Kenny should have made the substitutions sooner. Get the big Greek back into our defence Kenny. Even though he made a mistake at least he shows COMMITMENT to the cause and WANTS to play for us not like Agger (as he made clear in the press). I know who i'd like with me in the trenches and it's not Agger..

I don't excuse it. It's a sign of the person if they sit here and go f**king nuts over something, say that a player is f**king useless etc etc - and then when that player scores a winner that same person would say "F**k yes *insert name* you legend!!" - runs like these bring out the character of fans, and what I have seen over the last couple years is some fans here are a little more fickle than others. Knee jerk away, all it tells me is some don't have as much pride as a supporter as others. Not gonna name names or anything, im not trying to put anyone down. Thats how I see it.

I myself am as disappointed as anyone, but not surprised. The Kenny factor wasn't going to win us this game, the players still need to play a lot better than they have been and thats gonna take time to turn around. Kenny seems to have some ideas though, and im sure he is plotting some big changes. He just needs to see what we have to work with.

I tell ya one thing - Kenny will in no uncertain words make sure the players are up for the game Sunday. If we put in another sh*t performance, thats on the players. There's no way Kenny will be a softie like Roy, he will not be happy at all and say we had a good game if we lose to them. He will want us to hammer that team, and he will do everything he can from the sideline to make it happen. Bring on those bitter bas**rds!

Understand exactly what you say here.....You hear some right stick,especially at away games,only for those same fans to go crazy if that player scores and tonight was no exception,the language used tonight was well over the top.....ok a player loses a tackle or plays a lose pass but c'mon there's no need to crucify him time and time again ...tonight I kept quiet I knew we were second best because like on Sunday high up in Old Trafford I know we are second best but given time the right man will come and turn it around but it'll take time.....

The stick Hodgson received was shocking and I distance myself from it.....By contrast the Blackpool supports were magnificent and wore their colours...it was like going back to a better time when supports were just that and not on screen followers.....

Roy bought 4 poor players....when he only needed two decent strikers....a couple of lads from Wigan spring to mind.

I hope John Henry has got very deep pockets, cause he is going to need them!!!!

 So disappointed,we had them on the run for the first ten minutes then we let them get on top and they had us on the run for the rest of the match.I was hoping Kenny would of brought Maxi on for Jovanovic and brought Kyrgiakos on in for Skrtel.Maybe after that display we might get some action on the transfer front,In and Out.If some of our players were paid for skill and effort they would be bankrupt.

Much better overall performance today.

Shots on goal, counter-attacking- things we have been missing these past six months!

Blackpool fully deserved the win, they worked very hard & used their posession like we should have done!

Now I guess itl take longer than most of us thought- but kenny has my full support, patience people- he does not have a magic wand!

What a sad state of affairs when aspects of a 2-1 defeat to Blackpool (shots, counter attacking) give cause for optimism amongst the LFC faithful.

I saw nothing to raise my spirits and can only imagine the level of abuse that would be on here had RH presided over this fiasco.  The owners have changed, the manager has changed -the only thing left to change are the players and quite simply it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a case out for many players having any kind of long term future at Anfield.

Yazz said "the only way is up" - she had bloody well better be right cos I have the strong impression that there will be quite a few squeaky bum moments before this season is out.

Courtesy of A Feint Zebra

The thread needed a little humour.

Raul and Dirk's distribution were terrible. Often a good build up broke down with one of them attempting a quick release. Man we missed Carra and Gerrard out there to organise the troops

It's amazing how professional footballers can't even find their own teammates with a pass.

A team like Blackpool has shown this season that it doesn't matter if you are an international player or someone who commands £50k and upwards a week. What matters is that you play for each other, you have players in the important areas of the pitch that do their job effectively and you sweat blood for 90 minutes.

Unfortunately we have very little of those types of players. What worries me even more is that when you are in a relegation battle you need players that will fight for the club and I'm not convinced that most of the squad really give a f**k.

Completely agree....We don't need fancy dans or play boys...we need men of substance.Get the scouts to earn their corn,get out and start looking for lads who still have the game in their hearts....Holloway has them fighting and it's great to see..

Come off it lad,you don't access a player with statistics.

It depends on where he loses the ball and how and his response to it any player can have a 100% pass rate if they play it safe...He need only lose one tackle out of a thousand and it's 0:1.

Our midfield tonight wouldn't scare a non league team and I'm not taking the piss,don't use stats again,I'm sure Kenny won't.

I'm going to use stats everytime I take time to read them, sorry for you and feel free to ignore my messages. I tend to consider statistics a more interesting source of information than random opinions of people on the internet (especially considering that on this site you'll even find people blaming Agger for this match), and I actually don't think any professionnal ignore them (and especially not any professionnal working for FSG).

Anyway my opinion is not the contrary or yours, I was just saying our problem is not in things statistics and chalkboards can show (like bad passing, lots of individual errors, etc...) but in team coordination.

Now when a player really has a shocker, statistics show that (ie : look at Konchesky's or Poulsen's stats in some of our early season defeats, you don't need to watch the matches to find the problems) and when a player play too safe chalkboards show he mostly make backwards passes. In this match I see no player in this category, just lots of average performances from players not working together.

Our away form may have been beyond dreadful this season but last night was a much improved performance by the team, even though we had some players who kept giving the ball away cheaply and easily.

Also, Fernando Torres looked much more happier last night. Was smiling, scored a goal and showed some effort to win the ball.

It was a game we could have and should have won. The tactics weren't the issue but it the fact that we kept losing the ball every single time we won it, is.

I'm going to use stats everytime I take time to read them, sorry for you and feel free to ignore my messages. I tend to consider statistics a more interesting source of information than random opinions of people on the internet (especially considering that on this site you'll even find people blaming Agger for this match), and I actually don't think any professionnal ignore them (and especially not any professionnal working for FSG).

Anyway my opinion is not the contrary or yours, I was just saying our problem is not in things statistics and chalkboards can show (like bad passing, lots of individual errors, etc...) but in team coordination.

Now when a player really has a shocker, statistics show that (ie : look at Konchesky's or Poulsen's stats in some of our early season defeats, you don't need to watch the matches to find the problems) and when a player play too safe chalkboards show he mostly make backwards passes. In this match I see no player in this category, just lots of average performances from players not working together.

I'm not having a go at you....I was there tonight and I didn't need stats to show me where the team went wrong.....It was clear for all to see,stats don't show what the eyes see,Poor control,poor heading,poor positioning,lack of fight or passion or aggression,stats are too clinical,I wouldn't scout a player on stats.....yards covered just shows a willing runner...

Are you from the USA? I can only guess but I guess that would be more familiar in American football..YOu'll always get people singling out players for losing a match but thats rubbish as a unit they were all poor because that's all they've got.....Back to sats,I stick with my original reply to you,though I think I deleted it as I was going to rewrite it but it wasn't going to be much different...Anyway if on Sunday you can watch the match then compare statistics it would be interesting to see if you felt differently afterwards......

Kind Regards.

I'm not having a go at you....I was there tonight and I didn't need stats to show me where the team went wrong.....It was clear for all to see,stats don't show what the eyes see,Poor control,poor heading,poor positioning,lack of fight or passion or aggression,stats are too clinical,I wouldn't scout a player on stats.....yards covered just shows a willing runner...

Are you from the USA? I can only guess but I guess that would be more familiar in American football..YOu'll always get people singling out players for losing a match but thats rubbish as a unit they were all poor because that's all they've got.....Back to sats,I stick with my original reply to you,though I think I deleted it as I was going to rewrite it but it wasn't going to be much different...Anyway if on Sunday you can watch the match then compare statistics it would be interesting to see if you felt differently afterwards......

Kind Regards.

We did not win any first and second balls thats it. We did run a lot around but we were not aggressive enough in the middle of the park. Thats where we lost the game: Meireles, Poulsen and Lucas. The rest of us did well I thought.

Reina 7
Kelly 6
Agger 6
Skrtel 5
Johnson 5
Kuyt 4
Lucas 6
Mereiles 4
Jovanovic 5
Poulsen 6
Torres 7

sums it up really!

Bitterly disappointed by that tonight.

Thought we started with guile, quick precise passing, and actual pressing. First time I've seen that in 6 months away from home. Ended up with a SUPERB finish from Nando.


If you listen to the pundits, they are right about Blackpool. Their defence is pretty woeful, but they have the mantra of "we'll just score more". They are quick, better control then ourselves going forward, and shown a few times they have footballers who can f**king cross the ball. Something we haven't had in years.

Poulson, just wow. How can he be a professional footballer? I watched the Leicester v City game after the Manc's Sunday, and every midfielder from that Championship side made him look like a Sunday League footy player. Never-mind Charlie Adam, destroyed him tonight.

Surprised no-one mentioned how sh*te Jova was tonight. His touch was worse then Kuyt's has been all season. Lucas literally was on his own, playing against 4 Blackpool midfielders. Raul was playing too high up pitch, and not dropping back. He has never got stuck in since he has been here either, too soft.

I think the most serious problem is our defence. Skrtle has had like 6 bad games in a row. Johnson just is a sh*t defender, Agger had a bad game, and Kelly had an OK game but made some silly positional mistakes. I think we need a new RB, LB and CB to be honest. Kelly ain't a RB he is a CB he hasn't got the pace to be a WB as he is trying to be.

Torres played well for me, got stuck in, but as he became more and more isolated, he became frustrated, hence his yellow card. Ngog has the worst touch in the Premier League, the amount of times this season we punt it to him, and he loses the ball makes me headbutt the wall.

Good post....

Got to say though Jova put in two cracking crosses the best of the night,runs around a bit aimless,I'd still give him a shout......just.

Lucas will go in the end,it depends on who comes in,I still don't think he has enough quality,we'll see.

Agree with everything you picked up on Nogog....I've said it countless time on here,his first touch is just pathetic and makes me wonder about the training and who over sees it? Blackpool were searching out Kelly especially in the first half I must admit they've got some good players there who can pass it around..I wouldn't be shy of playing him at Right back,he just needs games there though he does lack pace and will get exposed.....see Northampton game for that.Raul? the lad is so lost,he needs a bit of time and an arm to show him the way, I'm  not sure of him though I never give excuses and he's been terrible at times but he's got this season then he can go..

What troubles me more than anything is the whole team looked lost and bereft of thought and ideas......everything seemed to be more luck than judgement,but after tonight and the stick the players got....I'm standing by all of them because I'm getting f**king sick of the s**t,I'll be still there regardless.

Can i just say, Glen Johnson is F***ing sh*t. Absolutely F***ing sh*t.

Can i just say, Glen Johnson is F***ing sh*t. Absolutely F***ing sh*t.

yes, yes you can and after tonight, not many will disagree with you.

Yes, Johnson has been a liability at defending since we bought him. Made many clumsy mistakes.

We need some BATTLERS in our team. We lose every 50/50 and duck out of challenges. We've got too many players playing with a rose in their hand.

Can i just say, Glen Johnson is F***ing sh*t. Absolutely F***ing sh*t.

And please add Dirk Kuyt along too. The guy has become F***ing hopeless, losing the ball majority number of times when in possession.

The team selection was poor, Poulsen was supposed to never wear the shirt again. i don't understand why Kenny picked him, has he not been watching at all the matches this season?

Johnson at left back?  Is he having a laugh?  Everyone knows his defensive play is poor, and if anything the right wing is a better option. When he did get forward on the left his left foot was so feeble he could barely scuff it 8 yards along the ground.

Kuyt picked yet again, after so many dire performances where his touch is worse than a rapists. Another puzzling selection, another dreadful performance.

I would have started Shelvey in the midfield, and Babel should have been up front with Torres.

Substitutions were poor and too late.

The passing of Blackpool and inventiveness in the final 3rd was far superior to ours, and it has become obvious that 3 or 4 quality additions are needed. NESV pull your finger out and quick.

To those who criticised Gerrard in this thread, I ask you where have you been in this past few seasons when many many matches have been won purely on the incredible performances of one man, Steven Gerrard.  He was not there today because of the passion he showed in trying to set an example to his team mates in not taking a backward step.  Unfortunately this is a passion that is lacking in everyone today barring maybe Reina and Torres.

Can I just say, Glen Johnson is f**king sh*t. Absolutely f**king sh*t.

You sure can. Said it before I will say it again Rafa's biggest flop.

I agree with JD here Kenny needs to realise that long gone are the days of relying on our defense to shut out the opposition we will simply have to outscore them. I am in such a depressed state that all day at work I have been watching great victories and highlights over the last few seasons  all under Rafa. Was watching a 10 minute highlight of the FA Cup final came across an interesting stat the defence that started that day equaled club record of 34 clean sheets in a season it consisted of Finnan, Carragher Hyypia and Riise. Those were the good days some feat considering most of the season Momo Hamman and Alonso protected the defense, oh and we also marked zonally.

Back on topic really deflated with the result the way that I saw it Kenny gave the likes of Poulsen and Jovanovic one last opportunity to prove they are good enough. Our midfield was too static and some of the distribution in particular by Meireles was comical.